12/30/2010

Electrical Engineering Department

Kota Bharu Polytechnic

Single-Phase Controlled
Rectifiers

Wan Zain Bin Wan Dollah

SINGLE PHASE AC TO DC
CONVERTER
1. HALFWAVE CONTROLLED
RECTIFIER
2. FULLWAVE HALFCONTROLLED
RECTIFIER
3. FULLWAVE FULLY CONTROLLED
RECTIFIER

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The Half-wave Controlled Rectifier

• Normal rectifiers are considered as uncontrolled
rectifiers.
• Once the source and load parameters are
established, the dc level of the output and power
transferred to the load are fixed quantities.

• A way to control the output is to use SCR instead of

diode. Two condition must be met before SCR can
conduct:
– The SCR must be forward biased (VSCR>0)
– Current must be applied to the gate of SCR

• The simplest controlled rectifier uses a single device, such as a

thyristor, to produce variable voltage d.c. from fixed voltage a.c.
mains. The circuit arrangement is shown below

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• The thyristor is turned on in the positive

half-cycle, some time after supply voltage
zero, by the application of a gate pulse
with delay angle α. In the negative half-
cycle, the thyristor is reverse biased and
cannot switch on. The larger the delay
angle, the smaller is the average load
voltage.

Voltage waveforms
for two delay angles are shown below

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Controlled, Half-wave R load

• A gate signal is
applied at t = ,
where is the
delay/firing angle.
Average"DC" outputvoltage
,
1
Vo Vave VDC Vm sin( t) d t Average power absorbed by resistor,
2
V 2 rms
Vms
[1 cos ]
P I 2 rms R
2 R
1
Vo , rms where, Vo , rms [Vm sin( t )]2 d ( t )
Vs 2
I o , rms 0
R 2R Vm sin(2 )
1
2 2

Example
• Design a circuit to produce an average voltage
of 40V across 100 load resistor from a 120Vrms
60 Hz ac source. Determine the power absorbed
by the resistor.

Briefly describe what happen if the circuit is

replaced by diode to produce the same average
output.

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Example (Cont)
• Solution
V 2 rms 75.6 2
In such that to achieved 40V P 57.1W
average voltage, the delay angle R 100
must be
• If an uncontrolled diode is used,
Vms the average voltage would be
Vo [1 cos ]
2
120 2 Vms 2 (120)
40 [1 cos ] Vo 54V
2
61.2o 1.07 rad • That means, some reducing
average resistor to the design must
Vm sin( 2 ) be made. A series resistor or
Vo , rms 1
2 2 inductor could be added to an
120 2 1 .07 sin 2 (1 .07 ) uncontrolled rectifier, while
1 controlled rectifier has advantage
2 2 of not altering the load or
75 .6V introducing the losses

Half - Wave Controlled

Rectifier Circuit with an RL
Load

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Figure 1 : Half-wave controlled
Rectifier with RL Load
Let vs(t) be Vm sin (ωt). At ωt =
0, the current through the
circuit is zero. As ωt becomes >
0, vs becomes positive. If a
diode instead of an SCR has
been used, the diode would
start conduction at ωt = 0. With
an SCR, the conduction does
not start till the SCR is
triggered. Let the SCR be
triggered when ωt = α. Then α
is called the firing angle and
the SCR continues to conduct.
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When ωt = π, the source
becomes zero, but at this instant,
the current through the circuit is
not zero and there is some
energy stored in the inductor.
When vs becomes negative, the
current through the circuit would
not become zero suddenly
because of the inductor. The
inductor acts as a source and
keeps the SCR forward-biased till
the energy stored in the inductor
becomes zero. Let the current
through the circuit become zero
at ωt = β and the value of β > π.
For β < ωt < 2π, the current
through the circuit is zero
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Average output current, Idc

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FULL-WAVE CONTROLLED
CENTER-TAP RECTIFIERS

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With Resistive Load

Average output voltage, Vdc

Average output current,

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With an Inductive (RL) Load

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Control Characteristics for center-tap rectifier

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With Freewheeling Diode

Average output voltage, Vdc

Average output current,

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Example 6.4
Explain with the help of waveforms the
operation of a full-wave center-tap
rectifier with RL load for the following
firing angles:
(a) 0°
(b) 45°
(c) 90°
(d) 135°
(e) 180°
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Assume highly Inductive Load

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Voltage and current waveforms for α =0°

• During positive-half cycle of

source voltage, SCR1 is forward
biased and SCR2 is reverse
biased. During negative half-cycle,
SCR2 is forward biased and SCR1
is reverse biased. In either case
voltage across the load is Vs.

• Output is similar to uncontrolled

rectifier.

• Each SCR conducts for 180° and

supplies current to the load for
this period

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Voltage and current waveforms for α =45°

• Average DC output voltage

decreases.

• If SCR1 is triggered at 45°,

SCR2 will conduct upto that
point, even though the source
voltage is zero, due to highly
inductive nature of load.

• When SCR1 is turned on, SCR2

is turned off.

• Current to the load is supplied

by SCR1 and SCR2, each
conducting for 180°

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Voltage and current waveforms for α =90°

• Average DC voltage is zero, so

there is no transfer of power
from AC source to DC load.

• Each SCR remains in

conduction for 180°

• As firing angle is increased

from 0 to 90°, the power
supplied to the DC load
decreases, becoming zero at
α =90°

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Voltage and current waveforms for α =135°

• Average DC voltage is
negative.

• Load current still flows in each

SCR for 180° in its original
direction.

• Load voltage has changed

polarity.

• Power now flows from DC load

to AC source .

• Circuit acts like an inverter.

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Voltage and current waveforms for α =180°

• Average output DC voltage is at

its maximum negative value.

• SCRs remain in conduction for

180°

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Example 6.5
Show direction of power flow and
operating mode (rectifying or
inversion) of center-tap rectifier
circuit with following firing angles:

A) α > 0°
B) α < 90°
C) α > 90°
D) α < 180°
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Solution

• For firing angle in the range 0° < α < 90°

1. Average output voltage is positive.
2. Converter operates in the rectifying mode.
3. Power to the load is positive
4. Power flow is from AC source to the DC load.

• For firing angle in the range 90° < α < 180°

1. Average output voltage is negative
2. Converter operates in inversion mode
3. Power to the load is negative
4. Power flow is from DC load to AC source

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Assignment # 2

• In example 6.4, draw waveforms for

voltage across thyristor 2. i.e., VSCR2

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FULL-WAVE CONTROLLED
BRIDGE RECTIFIER

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With Resistive Load

Average output voltage, Vdc

Average output current,

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With an Inductive (RL) Load

Average output voltage, Vdc

Average output current,

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For L >>> R

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Control characteristics for bridge rectifier

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With RL load and freewheeling

diode

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HALF-CONTROLLED
OR
SEMICONTROLLED BRIDGE
RECTIFIERS

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• In fully-controlled rectifier, only

rectification can be obtained by
connecting a freewheeling diode
across the output terminals of the
rectifier.
• Another method of obtaining
rectification in bridge rectifiers is
replacing half of the SCRs with
diodes. These circuits are called
semicontrolled bridge rectifiers.

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Full-wave semicontrolled bridge

rectifier circuit

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Semicontrolled bridge rectifier with FWD

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Dual Converter

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Exercise Problems
6.1, 6.5, 6.6, 6.9, 6.12, 6.21, 6.22, 6.24
Also give analysis of waveforms in each
case of all above exercise problems

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